Circe of Aeaea

Great Women of Greek Mythology #2

by Mike French, Vittorio Mattioli, Little Miss Grumpy (Cover)

Beware washing up on Circe's island: you will likely find yourself transformed into a pig. This is precisely what happens to Odysseus' men when they land on the isle of Aeaea during their epic journey home. Who is this goddess living here alone, surrounded by enchanted animals? And how will she deal with the famous Odysseus, a man unwilling to put up with anything that will stop him from getting home?

GREAT WOMEN OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY is a series of short books for young and old introducing readers to the ancient world through its heroines. These books aim to bring readers on a journey filled with excitement, drama, death and love, all while focussing on the women that have played such an important role in our history yet are still remembered as mere bystanders.

Genres: Mythology

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2024

About the author

Mike’s debut novel, The Ascent of Isaac Steward came out in 2011 with Cauliay Publishing and was nominated for The Galaxy National Book Awards which due to an unfortunate clerical error was awarded to Dawn French.

Mike's second novel a dsytopian sci-fi called Blue Friday was released in 2012 by Elsewhen Press and was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke award 2013. Convergence, his third book, was released in October 2013 from Elsewhen Press and was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke award 2014.

In Nov 2015 Elsewhen Press published Mike's hybrid novel & graphic novel called An Android Awakes with artist Karl Brown.

The sequel Fictional Alignment was published in paperback April 2018.

Mike was also the senior editor and owner of The View From Here literary magazine which closed in Nov 2014.

Reviews

[Roula]

Η σειρά αυτή παίρνει (για αρχή) 6 μεγάλες γυναίκες της μυθολογίας και γράφει ξανά τους μύθους τους ,εστιάζοντας περισσότερο ,ή μάλλον μόνο,σε αυτές πάρα στα έργα από τα οποία έχουν γίνει γνωστές . Η Κίρκη για παράδειγμα ,αξίζει 100% ένα βιβλίο μόνη της και όχι να χάνεται απλά μέσα στο έπος του Ομήρου . Πολυφαρμακος (χαρακτηρισμός που της δίνεται λόγω της μαεστρίας της στο χειρισμο βοτάνων ) ,κόρη του Θεού Ήλιου ,θεότητα και η ίδια ,θεία της επίσης μεγάλης Μήδειας ,έχει μείνει στα χρονικά ως αυτή που μεταμορφώνει τους άνδρες σε γουρούνια . Όπως πολύ σωστά αναφέρεται στο βιβλίο ,συχνά αναρωτιόμαστε γιατί το έκανε αυτό αφού δεν την προκάλεσε κάποιος . Ωστόσο δεν αναρωτιόμαστε πχ γιατί οι Κύκλωπες ή άλλοι μυθικοί τύποι έκαναν διάφορα παράλογα ή αψυχολογητα πράγματα . Οπότε γιατί να συμβαίνει αυτό με την Κίρκη ? Απλά το έκανε ..σε "δικά της" λόγια : "when men come here to my island, there is a price to pay . There is a price for everything in this world and this is the one here . I don't know whether it is a fair one . But it has been set ."
Απλά , λιτά,απέριττα ...είναι μια φοβερή τύπισσα της μυθολογίας και το βιβλίο αυτό με τον πολύ απλό όσο περιεκτικό τρόπο του με έκανε να το αντιληφθώ περαιτέρω και φυσικά να θέλω να διαβάσω και τα υπόλοιπα της σειράς με αυτά τα εκπληκτικά εξώφυλλα ..

[Andrea Miteva]

Beautiful idea of the authors to give the women of Ancient Greece the much deserved stage! The book about Circe is a perfect read for someone who isn’t very familiar with her story. Even with all the legends about her put in one story, the character of Circe stays one of the most mysterious ones in the history, you’ll either love her or hate her. I’ll leave that up to future readers.
I personally loved every second of the story and believe that, the legend about Circe can be seen as a modern feminist story, even though other authors such as Madeline Miller try to put her down and make her a victim of men in her own story.
That’s why I recommend to everyone who has an interest in her to read this book first and then decide if they want to continue with the fictional later developed versions of her story. I’m not giving 5 stars only because I found Electra’s story l much more easy to read.

[h]

This is an interesting series. Circe is such a mysterious character, so it was fun to see a new interpretation of her. I particularly enjoyed the author’s discussion in the “Behind the Myth” section.

[Gilles Puelings]

3,5⭐️

[Roos]

It was a fun quick read. It doesn’t bring anything new or interesting to the story. But if you’ve never heard the story of Circe before then this book will definitely inform you in a clear way!

[potentialw1tch]

Although I already know Circe’s story, I found this little book very interesting. I would say it’s perfect for people who don’t know much about Greek mythology and are just getting into it- it presents us the goddess Circe and the most famous myths surrounding her from entirely her perspective. To me, it’s always fascinating to see how different people interpret these timeless stories. This series is a brilliant way to engage new people with such an important topic, would definitely recommend!

[Ria]

Circe is a character defined by malice, misery, and jealousy. Even in a book that bears her name, she feels like a side character rather than a true protagonist. While the story is a good and easy read, it is certainly not my favorite in the series. It remains well-written, consistent with the high standards of the collection, but the character herself leaves much to be desired.

[jay daniells]

3.5 ⭐️

[Umar]

interesting and quick little read